Studebaker V8 longevity/mileage curiosity

[greyben]

I've often wondered about the longevity of the Studebaker V8. In the early 80s I purchased a '62 GT from the widow of the original owner, who by the way had been killed in an accident while driving another Studebaker. At the time of purchase the car had 195,000 miles on it. With the car was a logbook giving every bit of maintenance and gas purchases since new. The only evidence of engine work was the rear seal being replaced several times. We used the car as a regular driver for a couple of years, but at 210,000 mile decided it was time. The car was still running fine and didn't smoke, but the oil pressure was only about 25-30 pounds when running on the highway. Even though the crank looked near perfect I had it ground .010. The cylinders had some wear, but only needed .030 pistons and there may have been a couple of exhaust valves needing replacing. We drove the car another 40-50 thousand miles before selling it.

I should add the original owner was an engineer and the car was well maintained. It was purchased with a 4 speed, but he wasn't satisfied with the gas mileage so swapped it for an overdrive. Subsequently his average mileage jumped from 17-18 up to 21-22 mpg. It only had a 2 barrel and the 3.31 gearing left something to be desired in performance, but it was good road machine. I think the engine turned about 1800 rpm at 60 with the overdrive engaged.

So, I was wondering what others have experienced in the way of longevity for this engine? I will add that the other 4 or 5 engines I have torn down with fewer miles generally had more wear.

[paintim613]

1953 V-8 still running strong after 20,000 miles. Oops, I guess you weren't referring to the years, just the miles.

[Gunslinger]

Back in the '70s the R1 Avanti I purchased had 98k miles on it. I drove it for several years before the fuel pump diaphragm failed and it dumped lots of gasoline into the engine. I went ahead and had the engine pulled and rebuilt (it was leaking oil badly as is so common with Stude V8's). All eight cylinders were still within specs as was the crank. The cylinders were honed out, the crank polished and new standard bearings were installed as new standard Perfect Circle rings. I bought a complete kit from Standard Surplus of lifters, valves, etc., as well. I bought a NOS cam and NOS distributor from Standard Surplus (those ere the days!) and the everything went back together.

I drove that car for years after with no issues...well...no engine issues. The brakes failed once but no damage occurred...rebuild the master cylinder and all was well.

From my point of view, the Studebaker V8 is one tough customer. As always regular maintenance is key...for any engine.

[Skip Lackie]

It may be heresy, but I suspect that longevity of the Stude V8 was roughly comparable to those built by Ford, GM, and Chrysler. You made the point that the owner of that particular car was an engineer, was devoted to proper maintenance, and focused on gas mileage. The latter two things strongly suggest that the car was driven gently and was given plenty of oil changes and lube jobs. If there's anything that will ensure mechanical longevity, it's those. Very few of us are the original owners of our Studes -- which means someone else broke it in (properly or improperly), drove it (hard or easy) during its first xx,000 miles, and maintained it (well or poorly) during that period. Unless we rebuild the mechanicals, we're stuck with that history -- but that history determines how the car performs today.

[Dan Timberlake]

moly faced rings can double cylinder life or more compared to gentle iron rings, and synthetic oil might have a similar effect on valves and guides.

I'm not sure if synthetic oil of the "right" viscosity could sufficiently reduce cam bearing wear, or, if it and long term crank wear have deeper roots, like maybe journal finishes a wee bit rough, or less than full flow oil filters.

[studerodder]

if you think your stude leaks oil now, wait till you see what happens when you put synthetic in it! better buy extra.

[Bud]

I've been using Mobil 1 15W-50 in my Avanti for years and the only leak is from the transmission. Bud

[53k]

My '64 Daytona Wagonaire has a little over 130,000 miles on it. It ran smoothly and quietly with no smoke, just the usual leaks. It had been used very hard in its daily driver days (like pulling a 3,800 pound travel trailer). Decided to rebuild it due to low oil pressure and the fact that the Potomac Chapter was planning to make another 6,000-mile trip. My '53 Commander has 111,000 miles- runs smooth, carries good oil pressure and has very minor leaks, but does burn some oil. Before my '64 Champ was totaled in a wreck it had a high miles 289 in it. I had been running a R-1, but got tired of buying premium when gas started going up so I worked a deal with JDP to swap the R-1 for a 289 out of a '64 Cruiser that had 90,000 miles. I assumed that it had been abused and should be overhauled (not rebuilt like today's practice). There was very little ring groove so with honing a little I installed standard rings. Then I assumed that I needed .001 bearing so I installed a couple. I decided to check their clearance with Plastigage. After torquing to the prescribed number I removed the bearing cap and found that the Plastigage was squeezed almost all the way around the bearing. I tried again with standard bearings and found that they were still on the tight side of the original spec. I ran the engine for a few years then sold it to a local member after the truck was demolished. It is still running in a '63 Cruiser. A few years ago I bought a '64 GT on eBay from the son of the original owner who had died. It had 140,000+ miles on it and in the three-inch stack of receipts that came with the car there was nothing to indicate a rebuild. It carried good oil pressure, didn't smoke and ran very strong. It had been carefully maintained though.
To support Skip's contention, about 30 years ago I bought a '69 Camaro for my younger son. It was a 230 cid six with a three-speed floor shift. The original owner was selling it because it had 147,000 miles on it. It ran great and my son put another 100,000 on it before it spun off the vibration damper which gave him an excuse to install a 350 and four-speed. That 100,000 included installing a four-barrel intake manifold and headers then looking for Mustangs to surprise (which he did often). I had loaned him one of my AFBs to use on the manifold.

[Chucks Stude]

The new synthetics do not leak like the original synthetics. I use the 20-50 "synthetic" from NAPA. I believe it comes from Ashland. Works great, and boy the engine stays clean.

[PackardV8]

Rust has killed far more Studebaker V8s than has mileage. Given maintenance per the Shop Manual, the engine will run much longer than will the body.

Having said that, when Studes just became rusty orphans, maintenance was the second victim in the downward spiral. Since they weren't worth much and the body was falling apart, the owners just drove them into the ground. Maybe one in ten core engines I tear down show internal evidence of regular oil changes. Most look like they spent their lives in the La Brea Tar Pits.

One other factor, once the engine oil is warm, hard acceleration and shifting occasionally at the redline doesn't really hurt it or wear it. Ring wear reflects the total revolutions, not how fast they were achieved.

With modern moly rings, positive valve stem seals, modern oils and hard exhaust valve seats, even a bypass filter Stude V8 will be the longest-lived and most reliable part of the car/truck.

jack vines

[Studebakercenteroforegon]

if you think your stude leaks oil now, wait till you see what happens when you put synthetic in it! better buy extra.

This is folklore and not true. I have been using synthetic oil (Royal Purple or Schaeffer's) for many years with no unusual leak issues.

[bezhawk]

I had a 62 Daytona with a documented 365,000 miles on it. It was a 259, and 4speed. kind of sloppy, but it actually drove fine, no smoke. The book(s) with all the reciepts and oil changes, etc. filled two large boxes.

(*yes, there was engine work) one rebuild.

[studerodder]

This is folklore and not true. I have been using synthetic oil (Royal Purple or Schaeffer's) for many years with no unusual leak issues.

may not apply to studes, but certainly NOT folklore. in the mid 90's, while i was still racing late model stock cars, we were having oil temperature problems with a high compression 358 c.i. chevy engine of mine. switched it over to synthetic while we worked on the the temp. problem and it leaked so bad we had to mount a cloth baby diaper under it to prevent being black flagged during line-up! now this was a 7400 rpm engine, so it may not apply to studes, but it did leak much less before AND after the synthetic was used.

[Studebakercenteroforegon]

may not apply to studes, but certainly NOT folklore. in the mid 90's, while i was still racing late model stock cars, we were having oil temperature problems with a high compression 358 c.i. chevy engine of mine. switched it over to synthetic while we worked on the the temp. problem and it leaked so bad we had to mount a cloth baby diaper under it to prevent being black flagged during line-up! now this was a 7400 rpm engine, so it may not apply to studes, but it did leak much less before AND after the synthetic was used.

Nice to hear from a fellow oval track guy. I have been hanging around dirt ovals mostly for the last 25 years, and I know a few Northwest race engine builders. I know particularly the northwest super late model asphalt racers use synthetic only, and that is one of the reasons I know about Schaeffer racing synthetic - seems to be very popular with the SLM racers.

[Dick Steinkamp]

This is folklore and not true. I have been using synthetic oil (Royal Purple or Schaeffer's) for many years with no unusual leak issues.

I would agree. This may have been a problem with very early synthetic oils.

I switched to synthetic in my 2001 GMC pickup at about 170,000. It now has 185,000 on it...doesn't leak a drop.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...oducts/4213451

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/switch...hetic-oil1.htm

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/..._Vehicles.aspx